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“It’s been such an honour to represent you” 2019 Youth Representative Farewell

The time has come for Kareem El-Ansary to say goodbye as your Youth Representative to the UN.

“When I started in this role, I couldn’t have imaged the extraordinary journey that awaited me. Being Youth Rep is a singular privilege that is hard to describe. You get to meet thousands of incredible young people, hear their stories, hopes, struggles and then help to tell those stories. You get to be humbled and inspired every single day.

Thank you to our wonderful program partners who were so engaged and generous. Thank you to the parents, teachers, youth workers and volunteers who supported young peoples involvement in our program. A huge shoutout to the hundreds of amazing volunteers at UN Youth Australia who were with me every step of the way and helped make 2019 one of the biggest year’s we’ve ever had in this program.

Thank you to all of the young people who participated in our consultations. Meeting you was such a highlight of this journey. Thank you for trusting me to advocate for the things that matter to you. I hope that you felt heard and that you will keep fighting for the change that you want to see in the world.

Finally, to everyone that has interacted with our project in the past year and 3 months — thank you. Thank you for sharing your stories, ideas and time. There will never be enough words to adequately thank you all for what you’ve done this year. But know that you have made more of a difference than you realise.

It’s hard to find words that do justice to the incredible year and 3 months that we have shared but from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you. It’s been such an honour to represent you. Thank you for an incredible journey.”

#2019YouthRepFarewell

Watch Kareem’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of Young Australians

Get Involved

Take the first step in becoming a UN Youth volunteer. We’re always on the look-out for passionate and enthusiastic people to join the team.
You’ll become an accredited UN Youth Facilitator and have the opportunity to lead school visits, travel across the country and inspire the next generation of young Australians.